Relay device, storage medium storing program for relay device, and control method of relay device

ABSTRACT

In a system that enables a person who possesses a portable device in which enablement data as data that permits operation of a vehicle is stored, to operate the vehicle, a relay device is provided for relaying the enablement data from a center server that issues the enablement data of the vehicle, to a portable device of a person scheduled to operate the vehicle. The relay device includes an obtaining unit that obtains the enablement data of the vehicle from the center server, a temporarily storing unit that temporarily stores the enablement data obtained by the obtaining unit, in a storage device, and a transmitting unit that sends the enablement data stored in the storage device, to a portable device used by a person in charge of operation of the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/202,644, filed on Nov. 28, 2018, which claims priority to JapanesePatent Application No. 2017-229183 filed on Nov. 29, 2017, which areincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a relay device for operating a vehicle by useof a portable device, a storage medium storing a program for the relaydevice, and a control method of the relay device.

2. Description of Related Art

A technology for enabling operation (e.g., locking/unlocking, turn-on ofa power supply, and engine starting) of a vehicle, using a portabledevice, such as a smartphone, in place of a vehicle key, has beenstudied. With this technology utilized, the vehicle can be easilypermitted to be temporarily operated by a person (namely, a person whodoes not possess a physical vehicle key) other than the owner of thevehicle; therefore, a new method of using a vehicle or new serviceutilizing a vehicle has been expected to appear. For example, a systemdescribed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-206225 (JP2006-206225 A) permits a delivery service person to unlock a vehicle ofa receiver or addressee and place a parcel or package in a trunk room,if a device on the delivery side and a device on the receiver's vehicleside are successfully authenticated by each other.

SUMMARY

A system devised by the inventors of this disclosure provides a personwho wishes to operate a vehicle with data (which will be called“enablement data”) for enabling the person to operate the vehicle, andpermits a person having a portable device in which the enablement datais stored, to temporarily operate the vehicle. In implementation of thissystem, it is desired to take sufficient security measures in handlingof the enablement data, so as to prevent improper use or theft of thevehicle caused by leakage of the enablement data. For example, it isdesirable that the enablement data of each vehicle is issued solely by acenter server. Also, when the enablement data is provided to a portabledevice, it is desirable to check if the person who wishes to operate thevehicle can be trusted, and provide the enablement data only to aportable device of the person who can be trusted. Also, in some cases,operation (exclusion operation) to guarantee the uniqueness ofenablement data is desired, so as to prevent the power to operate thevehicle from being given to two or more persons at the same time.

However, it is not realistic that all of the above operations areperformed solely by the center server, since the load of the system andthe load of the network may be locally concentrated.

Also, depending on the scene to which this system is applied, it may notbe determined who will actually use the enablement data (namely, aportable device to which the enablement data is to be transmitted), atthe time when the center server issues the enablement data. Wheredelivery service as described in JP 2006-206225 A is taken as anexample, even if it is determined in advance that enablement data of avehicle A needs to be transmitted to a delivery company X on Nov. 9,2017, it may not be determined until immediately before the deliverytime, who will be in charge of the delivery to the vehicle A, out of twoor more delivery persons belonging to the delivery company X.Nonetheless, it is not desirable to send the enablement data to all ofthe delivery persons, or permit the delivery persons to freely give andreceive the enablement data to and from each other, because risks ofleakage and improper use of the enablement data may be increased.

The present disclosure provides a technology for safely and efficientlysending data for enabling operation of a vehicle, to a person who isscheduled to use the data.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a relay device configured totemporarily store enablement data obtained in advance from a centerserver, and send the enablement data to a portable device of a person incharge of operation of a vehicle after the person in charge isdetermined is provided.

More specifically, a relay device for use in a system that enables aperson who possesses a portable device in which enablement data as datathat permits operation of a vehicle is stored, to operate the vehicle,is provided. The relay device is adapted to relay the enablement datafrom a center server that issues the enablement data of the vehicle, toa portable device of a person who is scheduled to operate the vehicle.The relay device includes an obtaining unit, a temporarily storing unit,and a transmitting unit. The obtaining unit is configured to obtain theenablement data of the vehicle from the center server. The temporarilystoring unit is configured to temporarily store the enablement dataobtained by the obtaining unit, in a storage device. The transmittingunit is configured to send the enablement data stored in the storagedevice, to a portable device used by a person in charge of operation ofthe vehicle.

If the center server attempts to perform all of operations or tasks,such as management of user information, receipt of a request from eachuser, check of the validity of the user and his/her portable device,transmission of enablement data to the portable device of each user, andexclusion control of the enablement data, the processing load of thecenter server and the load of the network increase with increase in thenumber of users, and the operation of the system is expected to beextremely difficult, while the operation cost is expected to be huge. Onthe other hand, when the relay device as described above is used, thecenter server is only required to perform secure operation with therelay device, and therefore, the load of the center server can besignificantly reduced, as compared with the case where secure operationis performed between the center server and all of the users. Also, sincethe relay device sends enablement data to a person in charge, it isguaranteed that the enablement data is transmitted only to the personscheduled to actually use the enablement data, and a risk, such asleakage of enablement data, can be reduced.

In this connection, the above-mentioned “enablement data” may be data(or program) that can be implemented by a computer, or may be data thatcannot be implemented by a computer. The “enablement data” may also bedata for proving that the person who possesses the portable device is aperson who is permitted to operate the vehicle, data for activating adevice or a program used for the operation of the vehicle, or a programitself used for the operation of the vehicle, or may be other data. The“portable device” may be any device, provided that the person whooperates the vehicle can carry the device, and the device is able toreceive and store the enablement data. For example, a portable device,such as a smartphone, tablet computer, mobile computer, wearablecomputer, wireless storage, mobile phone, and handy terminal, may beused as the “portable device” of the disclosure.

In the relay device as described above, the obtaining unit may beconfigured to obtain the enablement data of the vehicle from the centerserver, when the vehicle is scheduled to be operated, but it has notbeen determined who is in charge of the operation of the vehicle. Thetransmitting unit may be configured to send the enablement data storedin the storage device, to the portable device used by the person incharge of the operation of the vehicle, after the person in charge ofthe operation of the vehicle is determined. The relay device thusconfigured can obtain and store the enablement data before the person incharge is determined. Thus, as soon as the person in charge isdetermined, the enablement data can be promptly provided to the personin charge. Also, the degree of freedom in scheduling of the executiontime of the enablement data obtaining process by the relay device isincreased; therefore, when the load of the CPU or network is relativelylow, such as at night, a plurality of pieces of enablement data can beobtained from the center server at a time, for example. This arrangementis advantageous in load distribution and efficient operation of therelay device and the center server.

In the relay device as described above, the obtaining unit may beconfigured to send a request including at least information indicating ascheduled date and time at which the vehicle is scheduled to beoperated, to the center server, so as to be supplied with the enablementdata corresponding to the request, from the center server. By givinginformation indicating the scheduled date and time to operate thevehicle, to the center server, it is possible for the center server toset a valid period for the enablement data, and adjust the timing ofsupply of the enablement data in accordance with the scheduled date andtime, for example.

The relay device as described above may further include aperson-in-charge information receiving unit configured to receiveperson-in-charge information for identifying the person in charge of theoperation of the vehicle. When the person-in-charge informationreceiving unit receives the person-in-charge information, thetransmitting unit may be configured to send the enablement data to theportable device used by the person identified by the person-in-chargeinformation. With the relay device thus configured, since transmissionof the enablement data is performed using receipt of theperson-in-charge information as a trigger, the enablement data can beautomatically transmitted at an appropriate time to the portable deviceused by the person in charge. The person-in-charge information receivingdevice may accept information manually entered by someone into the relaydevice, or obtain the person-in-charge information from anothercomputer, or read the person-in-charge information from a storagemedium.

The relay device as described above may further include a deleting unitconfigured to delete the enablement data stored in the storage device,after transmission of the enablement data to the portable device used bythe person in charge is completed. With the relay device thusconfigured, the enablement data is deleted at the time as describedabove, so that the enablement data can be prevented from beingtransmitted to two or more portable devices, and the uniqueness of theenablement data can be guaranteed. Also, the period for which theenablement data is temporarily stored in the storage device can beminimized, so that the risk of leakage of the enablement data can bereduced to a minimum.

In the relay device as described above, the deleting unit may beconfigured to delete the enablement data stored in the storage device,after transmission of the enablement data to the portable device used bythe person in charge is completed and the operation of the vehicle bythe person in charge is confirmed. Even when transmission of theenablement data to the portable device is completed, the person incharge may lose the enablement data by mistake, or the person in chargemay be changed to another person. In such cases, there arises a need totransmit the enablement data from the relay device again. With the relaydevice configured as described above, the enablement data remains in thestorage device at least until the operation of the vehicle by the personin charge is confirmed, thus making it possible to easily deal withre-transmission of the enablement data as described above.

The relay device may further include a notification receiving unitconfigured to receive a notification indicating that the person incharge has started the operation of the vehicle or the person in chargehas finished the operation of the vehicle, from the portable device usedby the person in charge. The deleting device may be configured to deletethe enablement data stored in the storage device in response to receiptof the notification by the notification receiving unit. With the relaydevice thus configured, the relay device can easily and automaticallydetect the operation of the vehicle by the person in charge.

The relay device as described above may further include an inhibitingunit configured to inhibit the enablement data remaining in the storagedevice from being transmitted to another portable device, until theenablement data is deleted by the deleting unit after transmission ofthe enablement data to the portable device used by the person in chargeis completed. With the relay device thus configured, the enablement datacan be prevented from being transmitted to two or more portable devices.

In the relay device as described above, when the person in charge of theoperation of the vehicle is changed from a first person in charge to asecond person in charge, after transmission of the enablement data tothe portable device used by the first person in charge is completed, (i)the inhibiting unit may be configured to cancel an inhibition mode inwhich transmission of the enablement data is inhibited, and (ii) thetransmitting unit may be configured to send the enablement data to aportable device used by the second person in charge. With the relaydevice thus configured, when the person in charge is changed, theenablement data can be promptly transmitted to the portable device ofthe person in charge after the change.

The relay device as described above may further include aperson-in-charge changing unit configured to perform a process ofchanging the person in charge of the operation of the vehicle. When theperson in charge of the operation of the vehicle is changed from a firstperson in charge to a second person in charge, after transmission of theenablement data to the portable device used by the first person incharge is completed, (i) the person-in-charge changing unit may beconfigured to perform deleting operation to delete the enablement datastored in the portable device used by the first person in charge, and(ii) the transmitting unit may be configured to send the enablement datato a portable device used by the second person in charge, after thedeleting operation performed by the person-in-charge changing device iscompleted. With the relay device thus configured, the enablement data isnot transmitted to the portable device of the person in charge after thechange, until after the enablement data is deleted from the portabledevice of the person in charge before the change. Thus, the uniquenessof the enablement data can be guaranteed.

In the relay device as described above, (i) the vehicle may include avehicle-mounted unit used for the operation of the vehicle, (ii) theenablement data may be authentication information used by thevehicle-mounted unit for authentication of the portable device, and(iii) the vehicle may be permitted to be operated using thevehicle-mounted unit, when the portable device is successfullyauthenticated by the enablement data stored in the portable device.

In the relay device as described above, the vehicle-mounted unit may beconfigured to perform authentication of the portable device viashort-range wireless communication. When the system is configured suchthat the vehicle-mounted unit and the portable device communicate witheach other via a mobile telephone network or the Internet, the portabledevice cannot be authenticated at a location where radio waves of mobilephones or Wi-Fi cannot reach, and the vehicle cannot be operated. Also,if a communication contract of the mobile telephone network or theInternet is needed for the vehicle-mounted unit, it may become a barrierto prevalence or widespread use of the vehicle-mounted unit. On theother hand, where the relay device is configured as described above, thevehicle-mounted unit and the portable device can directly communicatewith each other via short-range wireless communications, and the aboveproblems do not occur, thus assuring excellent convenience.

In the relay device as described above, the vehicle-mounted unit may beconfigured to behave in the same manner as a smart key of the vehicle,when the portable device is successfully authenticated. If the vehicleis compatible with a smart key, the vehicle-mounted unit can beinstalled on the vehicle, without requiring special modification. Withthe relay device thus configured, the vehicle-mounted unit can be easilyintroduced into a vehicle selected from a wide choice of vehicles, whichleads to an advantage that the system is more likely to prevail.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a relay device or systemhaving at least a part of the configuration of the relay device asdescribed above can be provided. According to a further aspect of thedisclosure, a control method of a relay device or a method of providingenablement data, including at least a part of the above processing, canbe provided. According to a still another aspect of the disclosure, aprogram that causes a computer to function as a relay device, or aprogram that causes a computer to execute a control method of a relaydevice or a method of providing enablement data, or a computer-readablestorage medium in which such a program is non-transitory stored, can beprovided. The above configurations and operations may be combined aslong as the combination does not give rise to technical inconsistency,to constitute the disclosure.

According to the aspects of the disclosure, it is possible to providethe technology for safely and efficiently sending data for enablingoperation of a vehicle, to a person who is scheduled to use the data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denotelike elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view showing the general configuration of a trunk sharesystem;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of constituent elements of the trunk sharesystem;

FIG. 3 shows one example of collection/delivery information of packagesto be collected or delivered;

FIG. 4 shows one example of vehicle management information indicatingthe relationship between a requesting user, and a vehicle as acorresponding collection/delivery location;

FIG. 5 shows one example of information registered in a user informationdatabase (DB);

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram provided by a controller of a relaydevice;

FIG. 7 is a view showing operation of a system of a first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a view showing operation of a system of a second embodiment;and

FIG. 9 is a view showing operation of a system of a third embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

One example in which the technology according to the disclosure isapplied to a trunk share system will be described.

Initially, a first embodiment of the disclosure will be described. FIG.1 schematically shows the configuration of a trunk share system 1according to this embodiment. The trunk share system 1 permits a person1 who requests collection or delivery work to collect or deliver anobject, such as a package, and a person S who does the collection ordelivery work, to share a trunk room of a vehicle 10 designated by therequesting person 1, so as to establish collection and delivery serviceusing the trunk room as a pickup/delivery location. Thus, the “person 1who requests collection or delivery work” and the “person S who doescollection or delivery work” are both users who use the trunk room ofthe vehicle 10, but are distinguished from each other, by calling theformer “requesting user 1”, and calling the latter“collecting/delivering user S”. A package or parcel to be collected ordelivered can be placed in the trunk room of the vehicle 10, and a doorof the trunk room is arranged to be locked and unlocked by avehicle-mounted system 10A, as will be described later. The trunk roomis preferably a region separated from a cabin boarded by a driver, etc.of the vehicle 10, such that the trunk room and the cabin are notaccessible from each other.

In the example of FIG. 1, the trunk share system 1 includes thevehicle-mounted system 10A installed on the vehicle 10, a portabledevice 200 of the collecting/delivering user S, a portable device 50 ofthe requesting user 1, a center server 400, a collection/deliverymanagement server 500, and a relay device 600. The vehicle-mountedsystem 10A, portable device 20, portable device 50, center server 4M,collection/delivery management server 500, and relay device 600 areconnected to each other via a network N1. The network N1 may be aworldwide public telecommunication network, such as the Internet, forexample, and a wide area network (WAN), and other communication networksmay also be employed. The network N1 may also include a telephonecommunication network of mobile phones, and a wireless communicationnetwork, such as Wi-Fi. The vehicle-mounted system 10A can be connectedto the portable device 200 of the collecting/delivering user S, via anetwork N2 including short-range wireless communications. While thetrunk share system 1 includes only one relay device 600, by way ofexample, it may include two or more relay devices 600. For example, whena delivery company that performs collection and delivery work has two ormore business offices, the relay device 600 that administers a pluralityof collecting/delivering users may be installed for each businessoffice, or for each business area. In the example of FIG. 1, thecollection/delivery management server 500 and the relay device (00 areinstalled within a business office of a delivery company, and areconnected by a local area network N3.

The collection/delivery management server 500 accepts registration of anarticle as an object of collection or delivery (which will also bereferred to as “collection/delivery package”), from the portable device50 of the requesting user 1. When the requesting user 1 asks thecollecting/delivering user S to deliver an article which the user 1purchased at a merchandise purchase site established by an electroniccommerce company, as a collection/delivery package, for example, theuser 1 can register collection/delivery information concerning thecollection/delivery package in the collection/delivery management server500, using an application installed on the portable device 50 of therequesting user 1 for using service provided by the trunk share system1. The collection/delivery information include identificationinformation on the requesting user i, collection/delivery scheduleinformation, and so forth, as shown in FIG. 3 that will be describedlater. In the collection/delivery management server 500, theidentification information of the requesting user 1 is associated inadvance with the vehicle 10 linked with the requesting user 1, and therequesting user 1 selects a pickup/delivery location to be used, fromcandidates of pickup/deliver locations related with himself/herself(requesting user i) and including the vehicle 10. The pickup/deliverylocation thus selected is also included in the collection/deliveryinformation. In the following description, the vehicle 10 is thepickup/delivery location selected by the requesting user 1.

When the collection/delivery management server 500 accepts a request forcollection or delivery of a package from the portable device 50 of therequesting user 1, and the collection/delivery location is the vehicle10, the server 500 requests the relay device 600 to obtain enablementdata for enabling operation (locking and unlocking of the trunk room ofthe vehicle 10 in this embodiment) of the vehicle 10 in which thepackage is placed, from the center server 400. At this point in time,the date and time when the trunk room of the vehicle 10 is scheduled tobe locked or unlocked is fixed, but who of two or morecollecting/delivering users S is in charge of collection from ordelivery to the trunk room of the vehicle 10 has not been determined.The person in charge of collection or delivery is determined when acertain number of requests for collection or delivery are accumulated,or at a predetermined point or points in time (e.g., once in the morningand once in the afternoon everyday), for example. More specifically, thecollection/delivery management server 500 may automatically determinethe person in charge, based on information (the number of packages,location, date and time) concerning collection and delivery and the workshift of each collecting/delivering user S. Alternatively, anadministrator may determine the person in charge, based on informationconcerning collection and delivery, and the work shift of eachcollecting/delivering user S, and may enter the information on theperson in charge, into the collection/delivery management server 500.Once the person in charge is fixed, the collection/delivery managementserver 500 sends information on the person in charge, to the relaydevice 600.

The relay device 600 obtains enablement data of the vehicle 10 from thecenter server 400, and sends the enablement data to the portable device200 used by the collecting/delivering user S who is in charge ofcollection from or delivery to the vehicle 10. The configuration andoperation of the relay device 600 will be described later in detail. Thecollecting/delivering user S can unlock the trunk room of the vehicle10, by using the portable device 200 in which the enablement data isstored, and access the trunk room of the vehicle 10 so as to collect ordeliver the package. The enablement data of this embodiment isauthentication information used by the vehicle-mounted system 10A (morespecifically, a key unit 100 that will be described later) forauthentication of the portable device 200, and is transferred from theportable device 200 to the vehicle-mounted system 10A via short-rangewireless communications, for use in authentication operation performedby the vehicle-mounted system 10A.

Next, the system configuration will be described. The block diagram ofFIG. 2 schematically shows one example of the configuration of each ofthe vehicle-mounted system 10A, portable device 200 of thecollecting/delivering user S, portable device 50 of the requesting user1, collection/delivery management server 500, center server 40, andrelay device 600, which constitute the trunk share system 1. Referringto FIG. 2, the hardware configuration and functional configuration ofthe vehicle-mounted system 10A, portable device 20 of thecollecting/delivering user S, portable device 50 of the requesting userL collection/delivery management server 500, center server 400, andrelay device 600 will be described.

The vehicle-mounted system 10A includes the key unit 10 and alocking/unlocking device 300. The locking/unlocking device 300 isincorporated in the vehicle 10, and is physically connected to a controlsystem of the vehicle 10, whereas the key unit 100 is not connected tothe control system of the vehicle 10 (for example, it is placed in aglove box or inside the vehicle). The locking/unlocking device 3M andthe key unit 100 communicate with each other via radio waves. The keyunit 100 has a wireless interface, like a so-called smart key, andcommunicates with the locking/unlocking device 300, so that it can lockand unlock the trunk room and cabin of the vehicle 10 (which may besimply stated as “lock and unlock the vehicle 10” when there is no needto distinguish the trunk room from the cabin), without using a physicalkey. The key unit 100 conducts short-range wireless communications withthe portable device 200 of the collecting/delivering user S, and behavessimilarly to a smart key, when the portable device 200 of thecollecting/delivering user S is successfully authenticated.

When the collecting/delivering user S accesses the trunk room of thevehicle 10 for delivery or collection of a package to be delivered orcollected, the portable device 200 of the user S receives authenticationinformation for locking or unlocking the trunk room, via the relaydevice 600, and stores it in a memory. The authentication information ofthis embodiment is, for example, authentication information (morespecifically, a public key) used for public key authentication. Then,the authentication information (public key) transmitted from theportable device 200 of the collecting/delivering user S to the key unit100 is checked or matched against authentication information (a privatekey) stored in advance in the key unit 100. If the authenticationoperation is successful, the portable device 200 is authenticated as aterminal that can properly operate the vehicle-mounted system 10A. Oncethe portable device 200 is authenticated, the key unit 10 sends a key IDof the vehicle 10 stored in advance in the key unit 100 and associatedwith the authentication information, to the locking/unlocking device300, along with a locking/unlocking signal. When the key ID receivedfrom the key unit 100 coincides with a key ID stored in advance in thelocking/unlocking device 300, the locking/unlocking device 300 locks orunlocks the vehicle 10. The key ID stored in advance in the key unit 100may be encrypted with the authentication information. In this case, whenthe authentication operation of the portable device 200 of thecollecting/delivering user is successful, the key unit 10 may decryptthe key 1 with the authentication information, and then send it to thelocking/unlocking device 30).

Here, details of the locking/unlocking device 300 will be described. Thelocking/unlocking device 300 is provided for locking and unlocking thedoor of the cabin or trunk room of the vehicle 10. For example, thelocking/unlocking device 300 locks and unlocks the door of the vehicle10, according to a locking signal and an unlocking signal transmittedvia radio waves of a high-frequency (radio-frequency, which will becalled “RF”) zone, from a smart key corresponding to the vehicle 10. Thelocking/unlocking device 300 also has a function of sending radio wavesof a low-frequency (which will be called “LF”) zone, so as to search forthe smart key. The locking/unlocking device 300 operates with electricpower supplied from a battery installed on the vehicle 10.

In this embodiment, the key unit 100, instead of the smart key, sendsand receives radio waves of the RF zone and LF zone to and from thelocking/unlocking device 300, so as to control locking and unlocking ofthe door of the vehicle 10. In the following description, thedestination of communications of the locking/unlocking device 300 islimited to the key unit 100, unless otherwise stated.

The locking/unlocking device 300 includes an LF transmitter 301. RFreceiver 302, matching electronic control unit (ECU) 303, bodyelectronic control unit (ECU) 304, and door lock actuator 305. The LFtransmitter 301 is a device that transmits radio waves of alow-frequency zone (e.g., 100 KHz to 300 KHz) for searching for(polling) the key unit 100. The LF transmitter 301 is incorporated inthe vicinity of the center console or steering wheel in the cabin, forexample. The RF receiver 302 is a device that receives radio waves of ahigh-frequency zone (e.g., 100 MHz to 1 GHz) transmitted from the keyunit 100. The RF receiver 302 is incorporated in any location within thecabin.

The matching ECU 303 is a computer that performs control to lock andunlock the door of the cabin or trunk room of the vehicle 10, based on asignal (locking signal or unlocking signal) transmitted from the keyunit 100 via radio waves of the RF zone. The matching ECU 303 isprovided by a microcomputer, for example. In the following description,the locking signal and the unlocking signal will be collectively called“locking/unlocking signal”. The term “locking/unlocking signal”represents at least one of the locking signal and the unlocking signal.

The matching ECU 303 certifies that the locking/unlocking signaltransmitted from the key unit 100 was transmitted from a valid device.More specifically, the matching ECU 303 determines whether a key IDincluded in the locking/unlocking signal coincides with a key ID storedin advance in a storage unit (not shown) of the matching ECU 303. Then,the matching ECU 303 sends an unlocking command or a locking command tothe body ECU 304, based on the result of this determination. Theunlocking command or locking command is transmitted via an in-vehiclenetwork, such as a controller area network (CAN).

The door lock actuator 305 is an actuator that locks and unlocks thedoor of the vehicle 10 (e.g., a cabin door that is opened and closedwhen the driver or passenger gets on or off the cabin as boarding space,or a trunk room door that is opened and closed when a package is loadedinto or unloaded from the trunk room), The door lock actuator 305operates according to a signal transmitted from the body ECU 304. Thedoor lock actuator 305 may also be configured to lock and unlock thecabin door and the trunk room door in the vehicle 10, independently ofeach other.

The body ECU 304 is a computer that controls the body of the vehicle 10.The body ECU 304 has a function of unlocking and locking the cabin doorand trunk room door of the vehicle 10 at the same time or independentlyof each other, by controlling the door lock actuator 305 based on theunlocking command or locking command received from the matching ECU 303.The matching ECU 303 and the body ECU 304 may be integrated with eachother.

Next, the key unit 1M will be described. The key unit 100 is placed at agiven position (e.g., within the glove box) within the cabin of thevehicle 10. The key unit 100 may operate with electric power suppliedfrom the battery installed on the vehicle 10 (e.g., may be supplied withpower from a cigarette socket, alternating-current (AC) power supply, ora USB power supply, for example, included in the vehicle 10), or mayoperate with power supplied from an internal battery. The key unit 100has a function of authenticating the portable device 200 of thecollecting/delivering user S, by conducting short-range wirelesscommunications with the portable device 200, etc. The key unit 100 alsohas a function of sending the locking/unlocking signal, using radiowaves of the RF zone, based on the result of the authentication. The keyunit 100 has an LF receiver 101. RF transmitter 102, short-rangecommunication unit 103, and controller 104.

The LF receiver 101 is a device that receives a polling signaltransmitted from the locking/unlocking device 300 via radio waves of theLF zone. The LF receiver 101 has an antenna (which will be called “LFantenna”) for receiving the radio waves of the LF zone. The RFtransmitter 102 is a device that sends the locking/unlocking signal tothe locking/unlocking device 300, via radio waves of the RF zone.

The short-range communication unit 103 is a device that communicateswith the portable device 20 of the collecting/delivering user S. Theshort-range communication unit 103 conducts communications in a shortrange or distance (to an extent that permits communications between theinside of the cabin and the outside of the cabin), using a certainwireless communication standard. In this embodiment, the short-rangecommunication unit 103 performs data communications using the Bluetooth(registered trademark) low energy standard (which will be called “BLE”).The “BLE” is a low power communication standard using the Bluetooth, andis characterized in that one device can immediately start communicatingwith the other device upon detection of the other device, withoutrequiring pairing of the two devices. While the BLE is indicated as anexample in this embodiment, other wireless communication standards mayalso be used. For example, near field communication (NFC), ultra wideband (UWB), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), etc. may be used.

The controller 104 has a storage unit 1041 and an authentication unit1042. The storage unit 1041 stores control programs for controlling thekey unit 100. A central processing unit (CPU) (not shown) of thecontroller 104 executes the control programs stored in the storage unit1041, so as to implement various functions including the authenticationunit 1042. For example, the controller 104 has a function of receiving apolling signal in the form of radio waves of the LF zone transmittedfrom the locking/unlocking device 300, via the LF receiver 101, afunction of sending a locking/unlocking signal in the form of radiowaves of the RF zone to the locking/unlocking device 300, via the RFtransmitter 102, a function of processing communications with theportable device 200 of the collecting/delivering user S conducted viathe short-range communication unit 103, a function of producing alocking/unlocking signal when the portable device 200 of thecollecting/delivering user S is successfully authenticated by theauthentication unit 1042, and so forth.

The authentication unit 1042 authenticates the portable device 200 ofthe collecting/delivering user S, based on authentication informationreceived from the portable device 200. More specifically, theauthentication unit 1042 compares authentication information stored inthe storage unit 1041, with authentication information transmitted fromthe portable device 200 of the collecting/delivering user, anddetermines that the portable device 200 is successfully authenticatedwhen these pieces of information have a predetermined relationship. Whenthe two pieces of authentication information do not satisfy thepredetermined relationship, the authentication unit 1042 determines thatthe authentication failed. Here, the predetermined relationship includesthe case where the authentication information stored in the storage unit1041 coincides with the authentication information transmitted from theportable device 200 of the collecting/delivering user, and also includesthe case where the processing results of given encryption, decryption,and the like, using the two pieces of authentication informationcoincide with each other, and the case where the result of decryptionperformed on one of the two pieces of authentication informationcoincides with the other information, for example.

When the authentication unit 1042 successfully authenticated theportable device 200 of the collecting/delivering user S, thelocking/unlocking signal produced according to a request received fromthe portable device 200 is transmitted to the locking/unlocking device300 via the RF transmitter 102.

The key unit 100 also transmits the above-mentioned key ID to thelocking/unlocking device 30, along with the locking/unlocking signal.The key ID may be stored in advance in the form of plain text in the keyunit 100, or may be stored in an encrypted form such that the key ID isencrypted with a code unique to the portable device 200 of thecollecting/delivering user, for example. When the key ID is stored inthe encrypted form, the original key ID may be obtained by decryptingthe encrypted key 1D using the authentication information transmittedfrom the portable device 200 of the collecting/delivering user, forexample.

Thus, the vehicle-mounted system 10A operates the locking/unlockingdevice 300 through the authentication operation by the key unit 100,using the authentication information transmitted from the portabledevice 200 as a starting point, so as to execute a series of steps forlocking or unlocking the cabin or trunk room of the vehicle 10. Theseries of steps provide a locking/unlocking process performed by thevehicle-mounted system 10A. While the locking/unlocking process isindicated as an example in this embodiment, operation of the vehicle 10permitted by the key unit 100 may also include turn-on of an ACC(accessory) power supply, engine starting, etc., as well as locking andunlocking.

Next, the portable device 2 of the collecting/delivering user S will bedescribed. The portable device 200 is a small-sized computer, such as asmartphone, tablet computer, mobile computer, wearable computer,wireless storage, mobile phone, or handy terminal. The portable device200 may also be a personal computer (PC) that is connected to thecollection/delivery management server 500, via the network N1, such asthe Internet as a public communication network. The portable device 200of the collecting/delivering user S has a short-range communication unit201, communication unit 202, controller 203, and input/output unit 204.

The short-range communication unit 201 is a device that communicateswith the key unit 100, according to the same communication standard asthat of the short-range communication unit 103 of the key unit 100. Thenetwork formed between the short-range communication unit 201 and thekey unit 100 is denoted as “N2” in FIG. 1. The communication unit 202 isa communication device for connecting the portable device 200 to thenetwork N1. In this embodiment, the communication unit 202 cancommunicate with other devices (including, for example, the centerserver 400, collection/delivery management server 500, relay device 60,etc.), via the network N1, using mobile communication service, such as3rd Generation (3G), and long term evolution (LTE).

The controller 203 is a computer that governs control of the portabledevice 200. For example, the controller 203 performs various operations,such as operation to obtain terminal authentication information asdescribed above, operation to produce a request for locking or unlockingincluding the obtained terminal authentication information, andoperation to transmit the produced request for locking or unlocking, tothe key unit 100. The controller 203 is provided by a microcomputer, forexample, and a CPU (not shown) of the controller 203 executes programsstored in a storage device (such as a read-only memory (ROM)) (notshown), so as to implement functions for performing the aboveoperations.

The controller 203 also interacts with the collecting/delivering user Svia the input/output unit 204. The input/output unit 204 is a devicethat accepts input operation performed by the collecting/delivering userS, and presents information to the collecting/delivering user S. Morespecifically, the input/output unit 204 consists of a touch panel andits controller, and a liquid crystal display and its controller. In thisembodiment, the touch panel and the liquid crystal display are providedby one touch panel display.

The controller 203 displays an operation screen on the input/output unit204, and produces a request for locking or unlocking, according tooperation performed by the collecting/delivering user S. For example,the controller 203 outputs an icon, or the like, for unlocking, an icon,or the like, for locking, etc. on a touch panel display, and produces arequest for unlocking or a request for locking, based on operationperformed by the collecting/delivering user S. The operation performedby the collecting/delivering user S is not limited to those entered viathe touch panel display, but may be those entered via a hardware switch,or the like, for example.

The controller 203 performs operation to obtain authenticationinformation issued by the center server 40, via the relay device 600.The authentication information is not the information (key ID) withwhich the locking/unlocking device 300 authenticates the key unit 100,but information (e.g., a public key corresponding to a private keyunique to the key unit 100) with which the key unit 100 authenticatesthe portable device 200.

In this embodiment, the authentication information obtained by theportable device 200 may be a one-time key that is revoked or invalidatedin response to locking of the trunk room door as a trigger, followingcompletion of collection or delivery work by the collecting/deliveringuser S. For example, the authentication information transmitted from therelay device 600 is stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the portabledevice 200, at the time when the authentication information is receivedby the portable device 200, and then, the authentication information isdeleted from the above-described storage unit, at the time when theportable device 200 receives a locking notification transmitted from thekey unit 100 when the trunk room door is locked following completion ofthe collection/delivery work.

The time at which the authentication information stored in the storagedevice of the portable device 200 is deleted is not limited to that ofthe above example, but may be the time when a predetermined time haselapsed from a point in time at which the portable device 20 receivedthe authentication information (or a point in time at which the relaydevice 600 sent the authentication information toward the portabledevice 200). The authentication information is not limited to theone-time key as described above, but may be a limited key that is validonly within a predetermined time zone.

Next, the portable device 50 of the requesting user 1 will be described.Like the portable device 20, the portable device 50 is in the form of asmartphone, tablet computer, mobile computer, wearable computer,wireless storage, mobile phone, or handy terminal. The portable device50 of the requesting user 1 has a communication unit 51, controller 52,and input/output unit 53.

The communication unit 51 is a communication device that is functionallysimilar to the communication unit 202, and is used for connecting theportable device 50 to the network N1. The controller 52 is a computerthat governs control of the portable device 50, The controller 52 isprovided by a microcomputer, for example, and a CPU (not shown) of thecontroller 52 executes programs stored in a storage device (such as aROM), so as to implement functions for performing various operations.For example, the controller 52 executes the above-mentioned givenapplication, so as to make a collection request to collect a package, tothe collection/delivery management server 50 of a certain deliverycompany, via the input/output unit 53. The input/output unit 53, whichis functionally similar to the input/output unit 204, accepts inputoperation performed by the requesting user 1, and presents informationto the requesting user 1.

Like the portable device 200, the portable device 50 of FIG. 2 may beconfigured to perform short-range communications with the key unit 10,though a constituent element corresponding to the short-rangecommunication unit 201 is not apparently specified. For example,authentication information may be stored in advance in a memory of theportable device 50, and the portable device 50 may be configured toactuate the locking/unlocking device 300.

Next, the collection/delivery management server 500 will be described.The collection/delivery management server 500 is provided by a generalcomputer. In the case where two or more delivery companies join thetrunk share system 1, each delivery company preferably prepares for atleast one collection/delivery management server as its own managementserver(s). The collection/delivery management server 500 in the form ofa computer has a processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), anda digital signal processor (DSP), a main storage unit (not shown), suchas a random access memory (RAM), and a read-only memory (ROM), and anauxiliary storage unit (not shown), such as an erasable programmable ROM(EPROM), a hard disc drive (HDD), and a removable media. The removablemedia is a universal serial bus (USB) memory, or a disc recordingmedium, such as a compact disc (CD), and a digital versatile disc (DVD).The auxiliary storage unit stores an operating system (OS), variousprograms, various tables, etc., and the programs stored in the auxiliarystorage unit are loaded into a work area of the main storage unit, andexecuted. Each constituent unit, or the like, is controlled throughexecution of the corresponding program, so as to implement a functionmatching a given purpose.

The collection/delivery management server 500 further has acommunication unit 501. The communication unit 501 is connected to otherdevices, and conducts communications between the collection/deliverymanagement server 50 and other devices (e.g., the center server 40,portable device 200, and relay device 600). The communication unit 501is, for example, a local area network (LAN) interface board, or awireless communication circuit for wireless communication. The LANinterface board or the wireless communication circuit is connected tothe network N1, such as the Internet as a public communication network.

The collection/delivery management server 500 further has acollection/delivery management database (DB) 503 that stores theabove-mentioned collection/delivery information. The collection/deliveryinformation is stored in the auxiliary storage unit, to form thecollection/delivery management DB 503, in which the requesting user 1and the collection/delivery information are linked with each other. Thecollection/delivery management DB 503 is constructed by managing datastored in the auxiliary storage unit, according to a program of adatabase management system (DBMS) executed by the processor. Thecollection/delivery management DB 503 is, for example, a relationaldatabase.

Referring to FIG. 3, the structure of the collection/deliveryinformation stored in the collection/delivery management DB 503 will bedescribed. FIG. 3 shows an example of the table structure of thecollection/delivery information, and the collection/delivery informationtable has each field of the requesting user 1D, collection or deliveryselected, collection/delivery date and time, collection/deliverylocation, collecting/delivering user 1D, and collection/delivery status.In the requesting user 1D field, identification information foridentifying the requesting user 1 is entered. In the collection/deliveryselection field, information for determining whether a package inquestion is to be delivered or collected by the collecting/deliveringuser S is entered. In the collection/delivery date and time field,information representing the date and time at which the package iscollected or delivered is entered. Regarding the time of collection ordelivery, in particular, a particular time may be entered, or aparticular time zone in which collection or delivery is requested may beentered. In the collecting/delivering user ID field, identificationinformation for identifying the collecting/delivering user S in chargeof collection/delivery work is entered. In the example of FIG. 3,persons in charge of the first and second collection/delivery works aredetermined, but a person in charge of the third collection/delivery workhas not been determined. The person in charge of collection/deliverywork corresponds to “person in charge of operation (e.g.,locking/unlocking of the trunk room) of the vehicle” according to thedisclosure. In the collection/delivery status field, information as towhether collection or delivery of the package by thecollecting/delivering user S has been completed is entered. For example,when collection or delivery of the package is completed, “COMPLETED” isentered. When the collection or delivery has not been completed,“UNCOMPLETED” is entered.

The controller 502 of the collection/delivery management server 500performs management control, such as registration of collection/deliveryinformation into the collection/delivery management DB 503, and updatingof the information. When the requesting user 1 requests collection ordelivery of a package via his/her portable device 50, for example, thecontroller 502 links the collection/delivery date and time,collection/delivery location, etc., with the identification informationof the requesting user i, to produce collection/delivery informationcorresponding to the requesting user 1, and stores thecollection/delivery information in the collection/delivery management DB503, When a person in charge of collection/delivery work is registeredor changed after the collection/delivery information is produced, orwhen a notification of change of information of the collection/deliverydate and time or collection/delivery location is received from therequesting user 1, the collection/delivery information stored in thecollection/delivery management DB 503 is updated in accordance with thechange. The controller 502 also communicates with the portable device200 of the collecting/delivering user S via the communication unit 501,and updates information concerning the status of the package, which isincluded in the collection/delivery information. For example, thecontroller 502 receives status information (e.g., informationrepresenting completion of collection or delivery) which thecollecting/delivering user S entered via the input/output unit 204, fromthe portable device 200, and updates the correspondingcollection/delivery information.

The collection/delivery management DB 503 also stores vehicle managementinformation that links the requesting user, with the vehicle 10 as thecorresponding collection/delivery location. Referring to FIG. 4, thestructure of the vehicle management information is described. FIG. 4shows an example of the table structure of the vehicle managementinformation, and the vehicle management information table has arequesting user 1D field, and a vehicle type field, color field, andnumber field in which vehicle identification information (vehicle type,color, and number of the vehicle) for identifying the vehicle 10 isentered. The vehicle identification information enables thecollecting/delivering user S to find the vehicle 10, when the requestinguser 1 selects the vehicle 10 as the collection/delivery location. Thevehicle management information table further has a vehicle positionfield in which position information representing a position at which thevehicle 10 is located is entered. The identification information andposition information of the vehicle 10 may be obtained when entered bythe requesting user 1 via the portable device 50, or the identificationinformation and position information of the vehicle 10 may be obtainedfrom the center server 400.

Then, the controller 502 sends a collection/delivery command to theportable device 200 of the collecting/delivering user S in charge ofcollection/delivery work, so that the user S can collect the packagefrom or deliver the package to the vehicle 10, based on thecollection/delivery information and the vehicle management information.The controller 502 may send the collection/delivery command to theportable device 200 two or more times, rather than once. For example, onthe day before the scheduled collection/delivery date, the controller502 may send a set of collection/delivery commands concerningcollection/delivery events of the next day, to the portable device 200of the collecting/delivering user, and send the collection/deliverycommands again on the date of collection/delivery. If there is anyupdating of the collection/delivery information when thecollection/delivery commands are sent again, the controller 502 causesthe commands to reflect the updated content of the collection/deliveryinformation.

Any of the functional constituent elements of the collection/deliverymanagement server 500, or a part of the processing thereof, may beimplemented by another computer connected to the network N1. Also, aseries of processes executed by the collection/delivery managementserver 500 may be executed by software, though they can also be executedby hardware.

Next, the center server 40 will be described. The center server 400 isalso provided by a general computer, and has the same basic hardconfiguration as the collection/delivery management server 500, namely,has a processor (not shown), a main storage unit, and an auxiliarystorage unit. Thus, the processor loads programs stored in the auxiliarystorage unit into a work area of the main storage unit, and executes theprograms. With the programs thus executed, each constituent unit, or thelike, is controlled, so as to implement a function matching a givenpurpose. The center server 400 also has a communication unit 401 that isfunctionally equivalent to the communication unit 501 of thecollection/delivery management server 500, and the communication unit401 conducts communications between the center server 400 and otherdevices (e.g., the collection/delivery management server 500, relaydevice 600, etc.).

The center server 400 has a user information database (DB) 403 thatstores various kinds of information, in its auxiliary storage unit. Thedatabase (DB) is constructed by managing data stored in the auxiliarystorage unit, according to a program of a database management systemexecuted by the processor. The user information DB 403 is, for example,a relational database.

The user information DB 403 is a database that governs information ofregistered users of service that permits the users to operate thevehicle 10 using the key unit 100. FIG. 5 shows one example ofinformation registered in the user information DB 403. In the userinformation DB 403, there may be stored information (such as a user 1D,and a password) used for authentication when each user accesses thecenter server 400, information (such as a vehicle type, color, licenseplate number, and serial number) of the vehicle 10 owned by the user,information (such as identification information that specifies the keyunit 100, and authentication information (encryption key) stored in thekey unit 100) on the key unit 100 installed in the vehicle,authentication information (such as a public key) as enablement data,and so forth. As additional information of the authenticationinformation, information, such as the valid period (including valid timezone) of the authentication information, and expiration of theauthentication information, may be stored.

A controller 402 of the center server 400 performs control, such asregistration of new users, change of user information, issuance(production) of authentication information, and transmission of theauthentication information to the relay device 600 and the portabledevice 200. Preferably, the process of issuing authenticationinformation is performed solely by the center server 400.

The registration of a new user into the center server 400 is performedin the manner as follows, for example. The new user accesses a userregistration site provided by the center server 400, using a portableterminal or a personal computer. Then, if the user enters, on a newregistration screen, personal information (e.g., name, address,telephone number, mail address, password, etc.) of the userhimself/herself, information (e.g., vehicle type, color, license platenumber, serial number, etc.) of the vehicle to be registered,information of the key unit installed on the vehicle to be registered,and so forth, a user 1D is issued. Once the new user and the vehicle(key unit) are registered, the center server 400 issues (produces)authentication information as enablement data, based on the informationof the key unit, and registers it in the user information DB 403.Thereafter, the user can access the center server 400 using the user 1Dand the password, and can use service, such as trunk share, thatutilizes authentication information. It is desirable to register vehicleinformation, such as a vehicle type, color, and license plate number,because such information is useful when the collecting/delivering uservisually finds the vehicle so as to collect or deliver a package;however, registration of such information is not essential. While theuser is supposed to perform registration operation for himself orherself in this embodiment, user registration and issuance ofauthentication information may be performed at a dealer or factory,where the key unit is installed before delivery of the vehicle.

Next, the relay device 600 will be described. The relay device 600 isprovided for relaying authentication information (enablement data) fromthe center server 400 to the portable device 200 of thecollecting/delivering user S. The relay device 600 is also provided by ageneral computer, and has a processor, main storage unit, auxiliarystorage unit, etc., which are not illustrated in the drawings. The relaydevice 600 has a communication unit 601, and the communication unit 601is functionally equivalent to the communication unit 501 of thecollection/delivery management server 500, and conducts communicationsbetween the relay device 600 and other devices (e.g., the center server400, collection/delivery management server 500, portable device 200,etc.).

FIG. 6 shows one example of functions provided by a controller 602 ofthe relay device 600. The controller 602 has functional units includingan authentication information obtaining unit 6021, authenticationinformation managing unit 6022, authentication information transmittingunit 6023, person-in-charge information receiving unit 6024,person-in-charge information changing unit 6025, and notificationreceiving unit 6026. The processor loads programs stored in theauxiliary storage device into a work area of the main storage device,and executes the programs, so as to implement these functional units. Apart or the whole of the functional units may be replaced with acircuit, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), anda field programmable gate array (FPGA).

The authentication information obtaining unit 6021 is an obtaining unithaving a function of obtaining authentication information (enablementdata) of the vehicle 10 in question from the center server 400. Theauthentication information managing unit 6022 is a managing unit havinga temporarily storing unit having a function of temporarily storing theauthentication information obtained by the authentication informationobtaining unit 6021, in a storage device (main storage unit or auxiliarystorage unit), a deleting unit having a function of deleting theauthentication information stored in the storage device, and aninhibiting unit having a function of inhibiting the authenticationinformation from being transmitted to another portable device in certaincases, so that the authentication information is not provided to two ormore portable devices at the same time. The authentication informationtransmitting unit 6023 is a transmitting unit having a function ofsending the enablement data, to the portable device 200 used by theperson in charge of collection/delivery work. The person-in-chargeinformation receiving unit 6024 has a function of receivingperson-in-charge information for identifying the person in charge ofcollection/delivery work, from the collection/delivery management server500. The person-in-charge changing unit 6025 has a function ofperforming a process of changing the person in charge ofcollection/delivery work. The notification receiving unit 6026 has afunction of receiving, from the portable device 200, a notificationindicating that the person in charge has started the operation of thevehicle 10 (for example, unlocking of the trunk room), or a notificationthat the person in charge has finished operation (for example, lockingof the trunk room). Details of these functions will be described later

Referring to FIG. 7, operation of the trunk share system 1 will bedescribed.

In step S700, the portable device 50 of the requesting user 1 sends arequest for use of collection or delivery service, to thecollection/delivery management server 500. At this time,collection/delivery information is transmitted, along with the requestfor use. The collection/delivery information includes identificationinformation of the requesting user 1, delivery or collection scheduleinformation, and so forth. The collection/delivery management server 500registers the collection/delivery information in the collection/deliverymanagement DB 503, according to the received request for use.

In step S701, the collection/delivery management server 500 sends arequest to obtain authentication information, to the relay device 600.The request includes the identification information of the requestinguser 1, delivery or collection schedule information, and so forth. Byreferring to these items of information, it is possible to determinewhen the collection or delivery is conducted and which vehicle on whichthe collection or delivery is performed, namely, it is possible tospecify authentication information to be transmitted and a transmissionschedule. However, at this point in time, a person actually in charge ofcollection or delivery has not been determined; therefore, theauthentication information cannot be directly sent to the portabledevice 200 of the collecting/delivering user S.

In step S702, the authentication information obtaining unit 6021 of therelay device 600 sends a request for authentication information, to thecenter server 400. The request for authentication information includesthe identification information of the requesting user 1, delivery orcollection schedule information, etc. In step S703, the center server400 reads the authentication information of the requesting user 1 fromthe user information DB 403, and sends the information to the relaydevice 600. At this time, the center server 400 may set a valid periodto the authentication information, and may determine the timing oftransmission of the authentication information, based on the delivery orcollection schedule information. When receiving the authenticationinformation from the center server 400, the authentication informationmanaging unit 6022 of the relay device 600 stores the authenticationinformation in the storage device (step S704).

Then, when a person in charge of collection/delivery work is appointed,and this information is registered in the collection/delivery managementDB 503 of the collection/delivery management server 500, thecollection/delivery management server 500 sends person-in-chargeinformation to the relay device 600 (step S705). The person-in-chargeinformation includes the ID of the collecting/delivering user S incharge of collection/delivery work, information specifying the portabledevice 200 used by the collecting/delivering user S (namely, informationspecifying the destination of transmission of the authenticationinformation), and so forth. When the person-in-charge informationreceiving unit 6024 of the relay device 600 receives theperson-in-charge information from the collection/delivery managementserver 500, it passes the person-in-charge information to theauthentication information transmitting unit 6023. In step S706, theauthentication information transmitting unit 6023 receives theauthentication information stored in the storage device, via theauthentication information managing unit 6022, and sends theauthentication information to the portable device 200 of thecollecting/delivering user S. Once transmission of the authenticationinformation is completed, the authentication information managing unit6022 switches the relay device 600 to an inhibited state (inhibitionmode) in which transmission of the authentication information isinhibited, so that the same authentication information will not betransmitted to other portable devices at the same time (step S707).

When the portable device 2M receives authentication information from therelay device 600, it stores the authentication information in a memory.When the collecting/delivering user S approaches the vehicle 10 whilecarrying the portable device 200 in which the authentication informationfor the vehicle 10 is stored, and enters a range (for example, an areahaving a radius of two to three meters) within which the portable device200 can communicate with the key unit 100, communications between theportable device 200 and the key unit 100 are established, and theauthentication information is transmitted from the portable device 200to the key unit 100 (step S708). The key unit 100 determines whether thereceived authentication information is valid, and notifies the portabledevice 200 of the success of authentication if it is validauthentication information (step S709). At the same time, the key unit100 starts operating as a smart key.

Then, if the collecting/delivering user S sends an unlocking signal,using a locking/unlocking application of the portable device 20, or takea locking/unlocking action, for example, presses an unlocking button ofthe vehicle 10 itself, the door of the trunk room of the vehicle 10 isunlocked, and the user S can access the trunk room (step S710). When thevehicle 10 is unlocked, a start notification indicating that theoperation of the vehicle 10 has started is sent from the key unit 100 tothe portable device 200 (step S711).

If the collecting/delivering user S sends a locking signal, using thelocking/unlocking application of the portable device 200, or takes alocking action, for example, presses a locking button of the vehicle 10itself, after doing collection (pick-up of a package placed in the trunkroom) or delivery (placement of a package in the trunk room), the doorof the vehicle 10 is locked (step S712). When the vehicle 10 is locked,an ending notification indicating that the operation of the vehicle 10has ended is transmitted from the key unit 100 to the portable device200 (step S713).

The portable device 200 deletes the authentication information stored inthe memory, using receipt of the ending notification from the key unit100 as a trigger (step S714), and sends the ending notification to therelay device 600 (step S715). The relay device 600 deletes theauthentication information stored in the storage device, using receiptof the ending notification from the portable device 200 as a trigger(step S716).

The system of this embodiment as described above has the followingadvantages. Since the relay device 600 performs operation to transmitauthentication information to the portable device 200, and operation toexclude others from access to the authentication information, the loadof the center server 400 can be reduced. In particular, the centerserver 400 is only required to perform secure processing with the relaydevice 600; therefore, the load of the center server 400 can besignificantly reduced, as compared with the case where secure processingis performed between the center server 400 and all of the users. Also,since the relay device 600 sends the authentication information to theportable device 200, and deletes the authentication informationtemporarily stored in the storage device, it is guaranteed that theauthentication information is transmitted solely to the person who isscheduled to actually use the authentication information, and a risk ofleakage of the authentication information, for example, can be reduced.

When the relay device 600 sends a request for authenticationinformation, to the center server 400, it gives information indicatingthe scheduled date and time when the vehicle 10 is to be operated, tothe center server 400, thus permitting the center server 400 to set avalid period for the authentication information, and adjust the time oftransmission of the authentication information in accordance with thescheduled date and time. With the valid period and appropriatetransmission time thus set, risks of leakage and improper use of theauthentication information can be expected to be reduced.

Since the relay device 600 sends the authentication information to theportable device 200 of the person in charge, using its receipt of theperson-in-charge information as a trigger, the authenticationinformation can be automatically provided to the person in charge at anappropriate time. Also, since the authentication information in thememory of the portable device 200 is automatically deleted, usingreceipt of the ending notification indicating that the operation of thevehicle 10 has ended as a trigger, the risks of leakage and improper useof the authentication information can be reduced. In this connection,receipt of the start notification indicating that the operation of thevehicle 10 has started, rather than the ending notification, may be usedas a trigger.

The relay device 600 performs inhibition control for inhibiting theauthentication information remaining in the storage device from beingtransmitted to other portable devices, until the authenticationinformation is deleted, after transmission of the authenticationinformation to the portable device 200 is completed. Accordingly, therisks of leakage and improper use of the authentication information canbe reduced.

As a second embodiment, operation of the system in the case where aperson in charge of collection/delivery work is changed, aftercompletion of transmission of authentication information to a portabledevice, will be described. The chart of FIG. 8 shows operation of thesystem according to the second embodiment. The same reference numeralsas used in FIG. 7 are assigned to the same steps as those of the firstembodiment. Also, steps that precede step S704, and steps that followstep S710 may be identical with those of the first embodiment (FIG. 7),and therefore, will not be illustrated in the drawings.

In the example of FIG. 8, when person-in-charge information of acollecting/delivering user A is sent from the collection/deliverymanagement server 50 to the relay device 600 (step S705), theauthentication information is transmitted to a portable device 200A ofthe collecting/delivering user A (step S706), and the relay device 600is switched into the inhibition mode (step S707).

Then, if information to the effect that the person in charge is changedfrom the collecting/delivering user A to a collecting/delivering user Bis sent from the collection/delivery management server 500 to the relaydevice 600 (step S800), the relay device 600 initially sends a requestfor deletion of the authentication information, to the portable device200A of the collecting/delivering user A before the change (step S801).When the portable device 200A deletes the authentication information inthe memory, in response to the deletion request (step S802) anotification indicating completion of the deleting operation is sent tothe relay device 600 (step S803).

When it is found that the authentication information stored in theportable device 200A has been deleted, the relay device 600 once cancelsthe inhibition mode (step S804). Then, the relay device 6X) sendsauthentication information to a portable device 200B of acollecting/delivering user B as a person in charge to which the user Ahas been changed (step S805), and is switched to the inhibition mode(step S806). As a result, the collecting/delivering user B is able tooperate the vehicle 10, using the portable device 200B.

According to the operation as described above, when a change of theperson in charge takes place, the authentication information can bepromptly sent to the portable device of the person in charge after thechange. Also, no authentication information is sent to the portabledevice of the person in charge after the change, until theauthentication information is deleted from the portable device of theperson in charge before the change; therefore, the uniqueness of theauthentication information can be guaranteed. Accordingly, risks ofleakage and improper use of the authentication information can bereduced.

The first and second embodiments are merely provided for describing somespecific examples of the disclosure for illustrative purposes only. Thisdisclosure is not limited to the first and second embodiments, but theembodiments may be modified in various forms, within the range of thetechnical concept of the disclosure.

In the first and second embodiments, the relay device 600 adopts aprocedure in which the relay device 600 deletes the authenticationinformation remaining in the storage device, after confirming, from thestart notification or ending notification, that the operation of thevehicle has been performed. This procedure has an advantage that thesystem can promptly deal with change of the person in charge, as in thesecond embodiment. However, the timing of deletion of the authenticationinformation stored in the relay device 600 is not limited to that of theabove embodiments, but, as a third embodiment of the disclosure, theauthentication information in the storage device may be deleted,immediately after the relay device 600 sends the authenticationinformation to the portable device 200 of the person in charge (stepS900), as shown in FIG. 9 by way of example, With the authenticationinformation thus deleted in this timing, it is possible to prevent theauthentication information from being transmitted to two or moreportable devices, and the uniqueness of the authentication informationcan be guaranteed. Also, the period for which the authenticationinformation is temporarily stored in the storage device can beminimized, and therefore, the risk of leakage of the authenticationinformation can be reduced to a minimum.

While this disclosure is applied to the trunk share system in the firstto third embodiments, the disclosure is not limited to this application,but may be favorably applied to various systems and services. Namely,the disclosure may be applied to any system or service (such as carsharing, and replacement driver service), provided that the system orservice utilizes a mechanism that permits a person other than the ownerof the vehicle to operate the vehicle, by providing the person withenablement data.

While the key unit that behaves like a smart key is illustrated in thefirst to third embodiments, the range of application of the disclosureis not limited to this. For example, a locking/unlocking control deviceand a portable device, which are connected to a control system of avehicle, may be configured to directly conduct wireless communications.Also, a device on the vehicle side and a portable device may communicatewith each other via the Internet, rather than directly communicating viashort-range wireless communications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A relay device for use in a system that enables aperson who possesses a portable device in which enablement data as datathat permits operation of a vehicle is stored, to operate the vehicle,the relay device being configured to relay the enablement data from acenter server that issues the enablement data of the vehicle, to aportable device of a person who is scheduled to operate the vehicle, therelay device comprising: a processor coupled to a memory and configuredto: obtain the enablement data of the vehicle from the center server;temporarily store the enablement data obtained, in a storage device;send the enablement data stored in the storage device, to a portabledevice used by a person in charge of operation of the vehicle; receivenotification indicating that the person in charge has started theoperation of the vehicle or the person in charge has finished theoperation of the vehicle, from the portable device used by the person incharge; and delete the enablement data stored in the storage device inresponse to receipt of the notification.
 2. The relay device accordingto claim 1, wherein the enablement data comprises at least one of datafor proving that the person who possesses the portable device is aperson permitted to operate the vehicle, data for activating a device ora program used for the operation of the vehicle, and the program usedfor the operation of the vehicle.
 3. The relay device according to claim1, wherein the processor is further configured to: obtain the enablementdata of the vehicle from the center server, when the vehicle isscheduled to be operated, but it has not been determined who is incharge of the operation of the vehicle; and send the enablement datastored in the storage device, to the portable device used by the personin charge of the operation of the vehicle, after the person in charge ofthe operation of the vehicle is determined.
 4. The relay deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to send arequest including at least information indicating a scheduled date andtime at which the vehicle is scheduled to be operated, to the centerserver, to be supplied with the enablement data corresponding to therequest, from the center server.
 5. The relay device according to claim1, wherein the processor is further configured to receiveperson-in-charge information for identifying the person in charge of theoperation of the vehicle, and send the enablement data to the portabledevice used by the person identified by the person-in-chargeinformation, when the processor receives the person-in-chargeinformation.
 6. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to inhibit the enablement data remainingin the storage device from being transmitted to another portable device,until the enablement data is deleted by the deleting unit aftertransmission of the enablement data to the portable device used by theperson in charge is completed.
 7. The relay device according to claim 9,wherein: when the person in charge of the operation of the vehicle ischanged from a first person in charge to a second person in charge,after transmission of the enablement data to the portable device used bythe first person in charge is completed, the processor is configured tocancel an inhibition mode in which transmission of the enablement datais inhibited; and send the enablement data to a portable device used bythe second person in charge.
 8. The relay device according to claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured to perform a process ofchanging the person in charge of the operation of the vehicle, wherein:when the person in charge of the operation of the vehicle is changedfrom a first person in charge to a second person in charge, aftertransmission of the enablement data to the portable device used by thefirst person in charge is completed, the processor is configured toperform deleting operation to delete the enablement data stored in theportable device used by the first person in charge, and to send theenablement data to a portable device used by the second person incharge, after the deleting operation is completed.
 9. The relay deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein: the vehicle includes a vehicle-mounteddevice used for the operation of the vehicle; the enablement datacomprises authentication information used by the vehicle-mounted unitfor authentication of the portable device; and the vehicle is permittedto be operated using the vehicle-mounted device, when the portabledevice is successfully authenticated by the enablement data stored inthe portable device.
 10. The relay device according to claim 9, whereinthe vehicle-mounted device is configured to perform authentication ofthe portable device via short-range wireless communication.
 11. Therelay device according to claim 9, wherein the vehicle-mounted device isconfigured to behave in the same manner as a smart key of the vehicle,when the portable device is successfully authenticated.
 12. A method fora relay device, the relay device being for use in a system that enablesa person who possesses a portable device in which enablement data asdata that permits operation of a vehicle is stored, to operate thevehicle, the relay device being configured to relay the enablement datafrom a center server that issues the enablement data of the vehicle, toa portable device of a person who is scheduled to operate the vehicle,the method comprising: obtaining, with a processor of the relay device,the enablement data of the vehicle from the center server; temporarilystoring, with the processor of the relay device the enablement dataobtained, in a storage device; sending, with the processor of the relaydevice, the enablement data stored in the storage device, to a portabledevice used by a person in charge of operation of the vehicle;receiving, with the processor of the relay device, notificationindicating that the person in charge has started the operation of thevehicle or the person in charge has finished the operation of thevehicle, from the portable device used by the person in charge; anddeleting, with the processor of the relay device, the enablement datastored in the storage device in response to receipt of the notification.13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the enablement datacomprises at least one of data for proving that the person who possessesthe portable device is a person permitted to operate the vehicle, datafor activating a device or a program used for the operation of thevehicle, and the program used for the operation of the vehicle.
 14. Themethod according to claim 12, further comprising: obtaining theenablement data of the vehicle from the center server, when the vehicleis scheduled to be operated, but it has not been determined who is incharge of the operation of the vehicle; and sending the enablement datastored in the storage device, to the portable device used by the personin charge of the operation of the vehicle, after the person in charge ofthe operation of the vehicle is determined.
 15. The method according toclaim 12, further comprising sending a request including at leastinformation indicating a scheduled date and time at which the vehicle isscheduled to be operated, to the center server, to be supplied with theenablement data corresponding to the request, from the center server.16. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: receivingperson-in-charge information for identifying the person in charge of theoperation of the vehicle, and sending the enablement data to theportable device used by the person identified by the person-in-chargeinformation, when the processor receives the person-in-chargeinformation.
 17. The method according to claim 12, further comprisinginhibiting the enablement data remaining in the storage device frombeing transmitted to another portable device, until the enablement datais deleted by the deleting unit after transmission of the enablementdata to the portable device used by the person in charge is completed.18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: when theperson in charge of the operation of the vehicle is changed from a firstperson in charge to a second person in charge, after transmission of theenablement data to the portable device used by the first person incharge is completed, canceling an inhibition mode in which transmissionof the enablement data is inhibited; and sending the enablement data toa portable device used by the second person in charge.
 19. The methodaccording to claim 12, further comprising performing a process ofchanging the person in charge of the operation of the vehicle, wherein:when the person in charge of the operation of the vehicle is changedfrom a first person in charge to a second person in charge, aftertransmission of the enablement data to the portable device used by thefirst person in charge is completed, the method includes performingdeleting operation to delete the enablement data stored in the portabledevice used by the first person in charge, and sending the enablementdata to a portable device used by the second person in charge, after thedeleting operation is completed.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium encoded with computer-readable instructions that are executed bya processor of a relay device that is used in a system that enables aperson who possesses a portable device in which enablement data as datathat permits operation of a vehicle is stored, to operate the vehicle,the relay device being configured to relay the enablement data from acenter server that issues the enablement data of the vehicle, to aportable device of a person who is scheduled to operate the vehicle,when the processor executes the computer-readable instructions theprocessor performs a method the method comprising: obtaining theenablement data of the vehicle from the center server; temporarilystoring the enablement data obtained, in a storage device; sending theenablement data stored in the storage device, to a portable device usedby a person in charge of operation of the vehicle; receivingnotification indicating that the person in charge has started theoperation of the vehicle or the person in charge has finished theoperation of the vehicle, from the portable device used by the person incharge; and deleting the enablement data stored in the storage device inresponse to receipt of the notification.